Of Princes and Pawns
by cobalt-blue
Summary: The Commander is injured taking down a mega-villain and Will is having difficulty adjusting to the chaos at home right now. An arrogant new student at school threatens to add even more difficulty. Working with short chapters right now. Rated T for Lang.
1. Chapter 1: Will

**Author's Note:**_ I'm trying to deal with two major plot holes in the movie with this first chapter. The first being Steve's insistence of debuting the Stronghold Three. That would have given away their cover identities. The second being: How can you have a homecoming dance (or cheerleaders for that matter) without some kind of athletic event._

Will looked up as the bus made an unexpected stop. He hadn't been getting a lot of sleep over the past couple of months, so he actually trying to grab a few winks before school. First there was the whole incident with Royal Pain and the homecoming dance. Then it took him almost a month to talk his dad out of the whole Stronghold Three idea. If Layla hadn't pointed out that calling the team the Stronghold Three would pretty much destroy their cover identities- after all the only connection to the word Stronghold they all had was their last name- he didn't think he'd had been able to do it. Finally there was the Power Lock incident.

There were run of the mill villains, the kinds that that his folks and most supers were accustomed to dealing with every day and then there were the super-villains like Royal Pain and Baron Battle. Finally, there was the third kind of villains, Will thought of them as mega-villains like Power Lock. And Power Lock and his latest attempt at world domination was the main reason he hadn't been sleeping lately. The mad ruler of the Northern European island country of Njordheim had launched a series of satellites armed with mass drivers and tried to hold the world hostage. It had had taken his father, his mother, Principal Powers, and a dozen other heroes from across the country and Europe to finally bring down his dreams of world domination.

When it all was over, Power Lock and two heroes from the West Coast were dead, the island kingdom had sunk into the North Atlantic killing most of its eighty-thousand strong population, and his dad was driving both him and his mom crazy with a broken leg he received in the fight. The Commander may be hard to hurt, but he wasn't invulnerable, and being caught in the backwash of a several hundred tons of rock as it slammed into the earth at re-entry speeds had actually managed to incapacitate him for a while. So, for now, his mother and Principal Powers were picking up the slack. That meant that he was pretty much in charge of taking care of things around the house.

His mind returned to what had brought him out of his much needed quest for sleep as he watched as a boy about his own age got on the bus, and nodded to the bus driver. He was followed by an older woman who stopped to speak to Mr. Wilson for a few minutes. It took him a moment to recognize her as Ms. Heathcliff, the crazy cat-lady who lived over on Morris Street in that old Victorian with twenty-plus stray cats. The woman seemed to always know everything going on in the super hero world- although as far as he knew, she wasn't one- and had even shown up at his house with a pot of chicken soup when his dad had felt like having over visitors.

The boy himself seemed to carry with himself a sense of power and even an arrogance as he made his way down the aisle looking for a seat. He was almost six foot tall, with long red hair pulled back in a pony tail and piercing green eyes. He was wearing jeans and polo shirt- sort of preppy style, with a back pack slung over his shoulder. He was handsome in an almost aristocratic way- not that Will 

noticed that kind of thing. He looked around and finally chose an empty seat across from him and Layla. He didn't say a word to anyone, and simply looked straight ahead.

Next to him, Layla looked over at the newcomer and said, "Hi, I'm Layla, and this is Will."

The boy turned and seemed to study her for a moment. Then his eyes raked over Will as if measuring him for something before finally saying in slight German sounding accent, "Hello."

"I didn't catch your name," Layla prodded.

He seemed to mull over her words for a moment before answering with, "I didn't give it." Then he again looked over to where Will was about to protest the rudeness, and said, "But I am Wade." The "w" almost had a "v" sound to it as he spoke his name.

"It's nice to meet you, Wade" Layla continued with her attempt to break the ice.

Wade simply nodded and turned back to face the front, not deigning to answer her with anything more. For a moment, Will thought about warning Wade about the safety harness and the wild ride that Mr. Wilson was about to put them through, but thought better of it. If he wanted to be rude then let him find out the hard way- the way the rest of the freshmen did. Will knew it was petty, but he wasn't feeling in a friendly mood himself right now.

It seemed that since he started Sky High, his life had become one crisis after another. The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea of just a few days of not being Will Stronghold, son of the Commander and Jetstream. He rolled that idea around in his head for a while. There had been an unbelievable amount of pressure on him for his powers to kick in, and now he found himself wishing them away for a while. He chuckled under his breath.

"Something funny?" Layla asked.

"Just thinking about how the more things change, the more they stay the same."

She gave him a strange look, raised an eyebrow and replied, "You're rather philosophical today."

Will just shrugged, "I've got a lot on my mind."

"Well, don't forget that paper that's due for Mr. Medulla this Friday," Layla told him. After the incident with Royal Pain, the guys in his circle had been moved up to the hero program. Even Mr. Boy had started teaching some of the hero classes. Will thought that Principal Powers was really working to try to change the curriculum some at the school.

"I won't," he told Layla.

"Care to share what's on your mind?"

He shrugged, "Just thinking about how I worried about getting my powers, and now I'm actually wishing for a little peace and quiet of not having them."

She nodded, "Things still hectic around the house?"

"Yeah. I've been trying to convince Mom to let me help her out with some of the missions until Dad gets better, but she won't listen."

"Didn't you just say that you were wanting some time off?" Layla asked.

Will chuckled and said, "That's the problem. I'm not sure what I want right now. I just wish things were back to normal."

"They will be soon. Your dad's leg won't be in that cast forever," she told him.

"I know. It's just sort of stressful at home," Will replied. Suddenly he felt the harness tighten around his body, and the bottom seem to drop out from under him as the bus took to the air off I-48. Will looked over at the newcomer and noticed the startled look on his face. Then he saw where Wade's fingers were embedded in the steel side panel of the bus. _Well, I guess that sort of answers the question of what his power is._

He watched as the other boy slowly gained control of his reactions and took his fingers out of the neat holes he'd made in the metal. Will couldn't help but notice the sharp hooked claws that seemed to be extended from tips of his fingers. Wade looked over at Will and grinned rather sheepishly, then straightened his shirt under the harness and directed his attention straight ahead as if nothing had happened.

Will grinned and lay his head back against the seat and closed his eyes. He let his mind drift back to the home coming dance on that night when all hell broke loose with Gwen as Royal Pain. Funny, everyone remembered the dance, but nobody remembered the game that led up to the dance. Sky High had actually managed to beat their arch-rivals, the Pacifica Academy up in San Medilla. It was the first time they'd won in five years.

Putting together athletic events for super powered students was actually a lot easier than most people would realize. There were a total of 24 schools in a whole network of facilities that catered to the various super powered teenagers throughout the US. San Medilla was the closest one to Max City, so they tended to be Sky High's rivals. Will had missed both the game and the dance, only arriving at the dance in the proverbial nick of time to get his butt kicked all over the gym by Royal Pain. He regretted missing the game more than he did the dance, for obvious reasons. He'd been playing with the idea of trying out for the team next year.

He felt the bus touch down- okay, more like slam down onto the deck, and was yanked back from his reverie to the reality of being a freshman in high school. He followed Layla and the rest of the gang off the bus and noticed that Coach Boomer and Principal Powers were both waiting on the landing deck. Principal Powers looked tired, and somewhat worried. For a moment Will wondered if he was in trouble for something, but then followed her gaze back to the bus where Wade was talking quietly with Mr. Wilson.

He watched as the bus driver got up and went back to check the seat where Wade had been sitting, then shook his head and waved the new boy on off the bus. No sooner had he stepped down than Coach Boomer and Principal Powers were next to him and escorted him into the building. Will wasn't sure, but thought that both of them looked nervous.


	2. Chapter 2: Warren

**Author's Note:** _I'm sort of basing Warren's attitude at this point, on another long-haired bad-boy teenager who ended up joining another group of teenagers in California to battle giant monsters and become superheroes. But I promise you, no- six toned communicator signals. grin (Actually Warren has sort of special place in my heart. He reminds me a little of my first boyfriend. –Danny)_

Warren sat down at _his_ table and hoped to be able to eat in some semblance of silence today. However, that was not to be. Okay, his friends weren't _that_ bad, and he had to admit that he did sort of enjoy having some of them around at times; and it didn't really behoove him give the occasional bully bothering Ethan or Zack a smoldering glare. It was just that he'd spent all those years alone, and had actually learned that he valued his quiet time and privacy. But it was not to be. Not two minutes after he started digging into the cafeteria's Monday mystery meat- he still hadn't been able to identify it, but was starting to suspect that there was a reason that the pigeon population of Sky High was non-existent- Magenta sat down.

Of all his friends, at least Magenta understood the value of silence, and she gave him only a cursory nod. He suspected that that was a side effect of her shape shifting powers. Guinea pigs were not exactly very high up on the food chain, and he sometimes wondered if that bled through to her human persona. Don't get noticed and don't get eaten.

Then Ethan joined them and he however, was already bubbling over with information. He started shoveling his lunch in quickly before he pushed his glasses up on his nose, leaned in, and said, "What do you guys think of the new kid?"

Warren raised an eyebrow and glowered at Ethan through his longish hair and asked, "What new kid?"

Magenta looked up at him and said, "Haven't you heard? It's all over school. There's a new kid in the freshman class. He even has you beat for asocial behavior."

"Asocial, moi?" Warren asked. "Don't you mean anti-social?"

Ethan shook his head, "Nah, we decided that you are more asocial than anti-social. The only time you're anti-social is when you're throwing fireballs at people."

"Like in just a second," he glowered at Ethan.

Ethan swallowed, seeming to get the warning. "Uh, yeah," he said suddenly finding his own lunch fascinating.

Warren turned to Magenta and asked, "What do you mean he's asocial?"

"Real quiet, answers questions with as few words and little information as possible," she said nibbling at her own salad. "Can't really blame him though."

"Why?" Ethan asked.

Warren glared at him again, and he quieted down. Then turning back to Magenta he asked, "Why?"

Magenta didn't look up from her food, but only said, "Paula who works in the front office second period, and has English with me third period said that he was the son of a major super villain."

Warren's appetite suddenly went away. He put his fork down and folded his hands over his plate, trying to hide the surprise he felt. "Who?" he asked.

The last thing he needed was the kid of one of his dad's old villain buddies trying to hook up with him at Sky High. Although Warren tried to give off the tough guy exterior, he knew that deep down he would never walk the same path as his father. He didn't have that core of hatred deep down in his soul that fueled his father's rage and fall from grace. Still, he didn't want to be constantly reminded that one of his parents had turned on his teammates, his mother, and even him. Some betrayals were harder than others to shrug off; no matter how uncaring an attitude you wanted to project.

Magenta leaned in and said carefully, "Well, his last name is Locke, and according to Paula his records show his country of birth was Njordheim."

Warren breathed a silent sigh of relief. As far as he knew, his father had never had anything to do with that particular madman. But then he realized _who_ might have a problem with this Locke kid. "Does Stronghold know?"

Magenta shrugged, but before she could answer, Will sat down across from him and asked, "Does Stronghold know what?"

Warren looked over to where both Ethan and Magenta were looking down at their plates. Warren considered his options. Will had become a pretty good friend, and he didn't want to be the one to have to break bad news to him. But then again, he did have a certain reputation as a mean nasty bastard, so he could at always use that as an excuse.

"Damn that Power Lock's kid is a pain in the ass," Zack announced blithely sitting down next to Magenta. "He actually growled at me in line."

"Power Lock's kid?" Will asked. "What are you talking about?" He added as he looked around. Warren followed his gaze to where a tall newcomer was checking out at the register. He was tall, lithely built and with his long red hair pulled back in a ponytail. He was also painfully handsome. "Who, Wade?" Will continued.

Warren noticed something else too. There were no more tables empty in the cafeteria. The school had yet to get around to replacing the ones that he and Will had destroyed in their fight. The only open seats were at this table. Warren looked over at Will and said, "That's what Magenta tells us."

Magenta simply nodded to Will. "That's what Paula said."

"Paula?" Will asked.

"The freshman telepath who works in the office," she replied.

"Great, that's all I need, someone else out for my hide because of my dad," Will put his head down in his hands. Warren wondered if Will meant him or Royal Pain or both. As if sensing he might have offended, Will looked over and amended, "I didn't mean you Peace."

Warren just grunted and said, "Good." He watched the kid Will had called Wade look around for a seat. He seemed to quickly come to the realization that there was only one table available. He shrugged and sat down at the end of their table. Warren immediately caught a whiff of something sharp and pungent, like blood. He looked at Locke's plate and saw there was only meat on it, and that it was nearly raw. Working in a restaurant Warren knew that it was illegal for any food service in California to serve truly raw meat- they at least had to put it on the grill on each side long enough to sear it, and that looked like it was about all that had been done to what was on Locke's plate. Of course that was about the same time Layla sat down.

She looked over at Locke's plate and a shocked expression slowly took form on her face. "You're eating raw meat?" she accused. Locke looked back over at her to acknowledge that he'd heard her, evidently feeling her question didn't warrant an answer and turned back to his plate with knife and fork. "How can you eat meat, much less nearly raw?"

Locke put down his plate, put his hands on the table and turned to face her. In a slightly Germanic accent he said as if speaking to a child, "My ancestors did not claw 

their way to the top of the food chain to eat salad. If you must have an answer to your invasion of my personal habits, it is this: I am a carnivore by nature, both as a human and as a transhuman. That means I eat meat, my body gains little to no nutritional value from eating most vegetation. I dislike the taste of most plants, but I do enjoy eating meat. If you choose to be vegetarian, that is your choice. I however, have no choice. I must and will eat meat." He glanced down at what was on his plate and then back up and added, "Such as it is." He then flashed a smile at her, complete with very sharp upper and lower canines.

Warren couldn't help but notice both Magenta and Layla shudder in their seats. Locke then noticed Warren watching him, and simply nodded before returning to his lunch. Will seemed to watch the interplay between the other boy and the group and sat up. He cleared his voice and said, "That's no excuse for being rude."

Again, Locke set down his eating utensils and put his hands flat on the table and gave Will a long stare before saying, "It was not my intention to be rude. If anyone was rude, it was the young lady. She began the conversation by criticizing my lunch." He stood up and added, "However, seeing as that my company seems to distress her, and evidently you as well, I will find some other place to dine." He deliberately put his knife and fork on his tray, picked it up and walked off.

Warren looked over at Will and Layla and said, "He was right."

"About what?" Layla asked.

"You were rude to him." Warren told her. "Sometimes you forget that not everyone can save the rain forests." He looked over at Locke's retreating form and added, "Some of the nice little animals that you want to save don't live a very nice life. They survive by eating other nice little animals."

"Was that really Power Lock's son?" Will asked.

Warren shrugged and said, "I don't know. That's what Magenta said. Maybe you'd better find out before you pick a fight with him though."

"I wasn't trying to pick a fight with him." Warren watched as Will's gaze followed his. "But I do seem to have a habit of putting my foot right the middle of every hornet's nest in school," Will groaned to himself.

Warren gave him a wry smile and said, "Everyone has to have a hobby."

"What are you going to do about him?" Zack asked.

"What's there to do?" Will asked. Warren could sense him trying to choose his words carefully, and actually appreciated the sentiment that came next. "Just because someone's parent or parents were villains doesn't mean that they are going to be one as well."

"His dad wasn't just a villain," Ethan said. "He tried to take over the world. He threatened to destroy several major cities and cause untold amounts of death and destruction."

"And, your dad didn't just put his dad in jail. He along with Principal Powers was partially responsible for killing his dad, and most of his countrymen," Zack added.

"Not that it could be helped," Layla quickly added obviously trying to soften the blow. Even Warren understood the idea of super heroes causing death and destruction was not a topic that many people wanted to discuss. The Commander and his team had had no choice. They had to choose between the whole world and the small country of Njordheim. Sometimes hard choices had to be made, and Warren knew that he wasn't ready to make those kinds of choices. He actually felt sorry for both Will and his father at this moment. Nobody blamed the Commander for those deaths, but it was still a failure on his part to "save the citizen", and Steve Stronghold knew it and so did Will. Warren also knew that Locke was going to be a constant reminder to Stronghold of his father's greatest failure.

Will just nodded and stared at the door out which Locke had disappeared. "I know."

The rest of lunch was eaten in a heavy silence, each person feeling the weight of their own thoughts. Warren wondered exactly what the rest of this year was going to bring. He knew there was more heartache and chaos ahead for his friends, and for just a moment he caught himself wondering if there was some way he could shield them. Then he found himself surprised at that thought. He actually had friends that he wanted to protect. That was a new concept for him.

With that thought in mind, he quickly finished his lunch, and left the table saying, "I'll meet you guys in gym. I want to check on something."

Everyone else just nodded to him as left. He put away his tray and headed toward the door through which Locke had disappeared. It didn't take him long to find the other boy sitting under a tree out on the quad finishing up his lunch. He walked up and leaned against the tree and said, "You're a braver man than me."

Locke looked up to where he was standing and raised an eyebrow, finally he sighed and said, "I suppose you want me to inquire as to what you meant by that."

'_Genta was right. He really does answer with as little as possible, _Warren thought. Shrugging he replied, "I meant the meat. I can barely get it down when it's cooked, I don't think I could manage it when it's that rare."

Locke just smiled and looked down at the tray and said, "It is rather unpleasant. I don't think it would be as bad if it were not frozen first. The cold center, lends it an unpleasant texture."

Warren nodded, and said, "Look, what Layla said. You have to understand, her mom talks to animals, and she controls plants. She's sort of our Earth Mother wood hippy."

Locke smiled at the joke and gestured toward the ground saying, "Join me." He offered his hand and said, "I'm Wade Locke."

Warren took the hand and found the grip surprisingly firm, but not over-powering. "I'm Warren Peace."

"Baron Battle's son?" Locke asked.

Warren was somewhat taken aback by his candor. After all, 'Genta had said that he wasn't too talkative. Finally, he nodded and replied, "Yeah."

Wade said, "I am the only son of King Valborg Von Locke of Njordheim."

"Power Lock?" Warren asked.

Wade nodded and asked, "Is this a problem?"

Warren chuckled, "Not for me."

"And for your friends?"

"Possibly, and maybe for you as well," Warren told him carefully.

"How so?"

"Stronghold's father was on the team that,…uh…" Warren found himself trying to find a way to phrase what he wanted to say.

Wade took mercy on him and suggested, "That brought down my father?"

Warren nodded. "See what I mean."

Wade simply turned to look out over the quad to the railings on the other side of the landing deck. "I am not my father. He raised me. He brought me up to rule our people. He taught me many things, but I did not always agree with him on the way things should be done. I am also the son of my mother, and she was an American. She taught me things as well. She taught me about love, about friendship, and about kindness. I had hoped that when I took the throne, that I would have been able to heal the wounds between my country and the rest of the world. But my country and my people are no more. Now I live with my mother's sister here in Max City. I am a prince without a country. My people are gone. My family and my land are gone; sunk beneath the waves of the North Sea. As Principal Powers so eloquently expressed the thought, I now have to carve out a place for myself in a world that will only remember my father as a madman who threatened the peace of the whole planet."

"She gave you that speech too, I see," Warren chuckled.

Wade looked up at him and said, "I take it that it's a canard for her?"

Warren shook his head, "No. Not really. It's just that I caused enough of my own trouble here in at Sky High up until this year that she sometimes had to remind me that I didn't have to live in my dad's shadow."

Wade nodded his head, and evidently was perceptive enough to catch the underlining meaning of what he said. That was somewhat refreshing. "What changed this year?"

"I made friends with the son of the guy who put my dad in jail," Warren told him.

"Ah," Wade said. "So you think I should do the same?"

Warren shook his head, "That's up to you." He shrugged, "Just wanted to let you know, that I know what it's like to be alone around here. If you need someone to listen…" He let it hang there surprised at himself for making the offer.

"I will keep that in mind, Mr. Peace," Wade told him.

"It's Warren."

Again Wade nodded, "Then please, call me Wade."

Before Warren could reply, the bell rang signaling the end of lunch.


	3. Chapter 3 Will

Of Princes and Pawns Issue 3

Will watched as Wade and Warren squared off with Lash and Speed for Save the Citizen. The new guy had kicked off his gym shoes, something that Coach Boomer made note of, and began stalking his way toward the speedster.

"What are you doing?" Warren asked.

"Just watch and get ready to act," Wade said.

Wade moved with the lithe grace of a dancer as he worked his way around the edge of the gym floor. Warren in the meantime, had powered up and flame was dancing off his shoulders and hands as he stalked the two villains. Lash and Speed looked at each other confused, they were used to be the aggressors, not the prey. Then both boys shrugged and took took off.

Punch after punch fired out toward Warren's face from Lash. The big pyrokinetic dodged left and right as he tried to line up a shot, never seeing the danger coming at him from behind. Keeping Warren's attention on his punches, Lash snaked his other arm out and around the baseboard of the gym until he it was coming from behind toward the unsuspecting hero's legs.

Speed raced out and began to circle the new comer at great speed, beginning to suck the air out of the center of the vortex he was creating. Suddenly a wild scream like an angry cat sliced through the air and Will jumped out of his seat in the bleachers. Speed ran headlong into something big and mean that stepped into his path. He bounced off and looked up at eight feet of angry anthropomorphic cat that was growling down at him, its tail lashing angrily behind him, and the long red hair flying in the breeze created by the speedster. Will could see the tight gym sweats were stretched to nearly their breaking point and the sweat shirt was tiny on the huge chest.

Speed looked up at the beast who leaned down into his face and ran a claw down the side of his jaw. Will watched as a large puddle formed on the gym floor under the overweight bully. Then with reactions that were too quick to follow, the creature lashed his huge clawed right foot out and pinned Lash's hand to the floor just behind Warren's back. Again he screamed into the air, and Warren leaped toward the citizen trap. A quick ball to fire to the chain holding the dummy over the masher melted it away just before his arms closed around the citizen and his momentum carried him and it out of danger. The ending signal blared.

Everybody came out of the bleachers screaming and cheering. Coach Boomer yelled, "Speed! Get a mop!"

The giant werecat looked around and shrugged at the attention then began to shrink back down into the rather embarrassed form of Wade Locke. Ethan walked over to him and said, "Fantastic job, Dude!"

"I was wondering why you went out there barefooted," Will said to the young man.

"I've spent my shoe allowance for this month," Wade said with a smile.

"I bet!" Ethan replied.

Will noticed that Magenta was giving the guy a wide berth now, so was Layla. He nodded over to the red head and said, "Now do you understand why I eat meat?"

Layla had the good grace to swallow hard and nod. Will began to sense something in the air. Several of the students were giving the new comer strange looks, like they were frightened of him.

Warren on the other hand, walked over and nodded to his new partner, looked down at the retreating form of Speed and said, "Impressive."

Wade said, "My mother was the shapeshifter heroine, Mooncat."

"Wasn't she one of the heroines with two powers, like Will?" Ethan asked.

Wade turned and smiled at the smaller boy. At least he wasn't drawing back from Wade like the others. He nodded and said, "Yes, she had a strong teleportation gift as well."

"What about you?" Layla asked.

"I am the son of my parents," he said with that slight German accent again.

Will took that to mean that he was not going to give a definite answer. He couldn't really blame the guy. Finally he said, "Look, I'm sorry for the misunderstanding in the cafeteria." He offered the red head his hand.

The other boy looked at it for a moment and just before Will started to withdraw his hand, he took it. "Perhaps I could have handled things differently as well. I am unaccustomed to being around very many people."

"It's a start," Warren said walking away.

After school, Will found himself helping his dad fix dinner. Actually, he was doing most of the cooking. While his dad cut onions and stuff Will operated the stove. They were trying his grandmother's chili recipe. "So, how was school today?" his dad asked.

He shrugged and said, "We got a new student."

"Really? What powers?" he asked.

"He's shapeshifter and a tank," Will said.

"Hmmm...., what kind of shapeshifter?" his Dad asked. "Please tell me he's more aggressive than a guinea pig."

"Oh, he's definitely more aggressive. He's some kind of werecat. He and Peace beat our record on Save the Citizen," Will said, not sure how he felt about having his record broken.

"Wow!" Steve said. "What did they do?"

"He scared the pee out of Speed- literally, and then pinned Lash's hand to the floor to keep him from tripping Warren. Warren rescued the citizen," Will said.

"When did they let Speed and Lash back into school?" his dad asked curiously.

"About two weeks ago. They're on some kind of probation," Will told him.

"I see. And Speed wet himself?" he asked chuckling.

"Right there in the middle of the gym floor. Coach Boomer made him clean it up."

"I think I'd have like to have seen that," Steve said. "Who's his parents?"

"Power Locke and Mooncat," he said judging his dad's reaction.

"They let Power Lock's kid into that school?!" Steve asked suddenly reaching for the phone.

"He's not his father, Dad. He hasn't done anything wrong," Will said, surprising himself when he realized he actually believed that. He also recognized that he was feeling a little hostile toward the new guy himself, but he wasn't sure why.

Steve stopped and looked at his son. Sitting down his face showed his own surprise. "You're right, son. He hasn't and we can't jump to any conclusions. But I think it's odd that he showed up here in Mega City."

"He's living with old Mrs. Heathcliff over on Morris Street. He says she's his aunt."

"I didn't know Power Lock had any relatives in the US," Steve said.

"I think she's Wade's mother's sister or something," Will said.

"That may be the case. But you need to be careful. I wouldn't put it past Power Lock to booby trap his own kid," Steve said.

That was one of the most ridiculous things, Will had ever heard his father say. Wade may be a stuck up jerk, but he wasn't a bad guy, and Will seriously doubted that he was in some way booby trapped. It was then that Will understood what it was that annoyed him about Wade. He was the son of the world's worst villain, he was alone in the world, yet he still carried himself like a Prince. For some reason that irritated Will.

"I'll watch my back," Will finally told his dad, just to change the subject.

"Good," Steve said.

"Good what?" Josie Stronghold asked entering the kitchen with Principal Powers in tow.

"Just a man to man talk," Steve told his wife as she bent down to get a kiss.

"Hello dear. How did things go?" Steve asked. "Nodding over to Principal Powers, he said, "Hello, Diana. How did it go?"

"Hello, Steve," Principal Powers said. "Blackstar is behind bars, along with most of his gang."

"Good work, Ladies," Will's father said. Then looking at Principal Powers, he said, "I understand you got a new student today."

She smiled at him, and Will saw her glance over toward him and then said, "Yeah. Coach Boomer tells me that he and Warren Peace broke the record for save the citizen."

"Good," Steve said. "Hey Will, we need some sour cream, would you mind running down to the store and getting some?" His father then handed him a twenty and said, "Hurry up will ya?"

Will got the hint. The adults wanted to talk without him around. Of course Will understood it. Principal Powers could't really discuss another student in front of him. Will thought it might even be the law. He took the money and headed out toward the supermarket at the end of the sub division.

~*~

"Stronghold, you look like someone just kicked your puppy," Warren said as Will came out of the store.

Will looked up and saw his best friend and said, "Sorry, things are still a little messed up at home. Principal Powers is there now. Dad sent me out for sour cream, but we have two containers of it in the fridge already."

"Let me guess, they're talking about Wade," Warren said.

Will nodded and replied, "Yeah. Dad almost went ballistic when I told him who Wade's dad was."

"What'cha' go an' tell him that for?" Warren asked.

"Because he asked," Will countered.

"Guess you sort of had to answer then, didn't you," Warren said in about as much of an apology as Will knew he was likely to get out of the other teen.

"I just wish I could figure out why Zack and Magenta were so scared of him," Will said.

"Stronghold?" Warren said sarcastically, "Magenta is a guinea pig. Cats eat guinea pigs."

"What about Zack then?" Will asked.

"He's dating her. Of course he's afraid for her. Besides, Zack's power is even more useless than hers and Ethan's. His chances against Locke are less than 'Genta's," Warren said. "Then he sighed and added, "And he gives off the whole air of a predator thing that a lot of shapeshifters have."

"How do you know that?" Will asked.

He blushed and said, "That's my mom's power. She's a were."

"I didn't know," Will said.

"I never said anything," Warren said.

"Dad's worried that maybe Power Lock booby trapped him in some way," Will said.

"That's ridiculous," was all Warren would say.

"How do you know that?" Will asked.

"Do you really believe that?" Warren asked.

Will shook his head and said, "No. I'm just wondering though, how you know it for sure."

"Because I talked to him," Warren said as the two continued to walk down the street.

"You like him don't you," Will said.

"Will," Warren warned him.

"It's okay, Warren," Will said. "Your secret is safe with me."


End file.
